Report Roundup for May 2004

Still Young, Restless, and Jobless: The Growing Employment Malaise Among U.S. Teens and Young AdultsCenter for Labor Market Studies

As the economy began to recover and overall unemployment declined in 2003, teens were left on the outside looking in, according to this study. About 5.9 million teens ages 16 through 19 were employed in 2003, an 18 percent drop from the 7.2 million employed in 2000. Making matters worse, the population of that age group has increased by 184,000 since 2003. The employment-to-population ratio for the age group is now 36.8 percent, the lowest since World War II.

Males have been more adversely affected than females, which study authors attribute in part to an influx of immigrant labor.

It’s About Time! A Look at Out-of-School Time for Urban TeensNational Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST)

Research from five cities reveals a conundrum in working with high school-age youth in urban areas. While they want out-of-school opportunities, says NIOST, they are less likely to be served than any other youth demographic group.

Conventional wisdom, the authors say, makes funding “adhere to a philosophy that investments are most worthwhile when made at the earliest possible intervention level.” Because they are the most mobile and independent of youths, the report says, high schoolers are also the least likely to regularly attend after-school programs.

Research on programs that do serve older teens shows that they serve more females than males; that 77 percent do not require fees to attend; and that the majority of those who do attend are minorities. 21 pages. Free online. National Institute on Out-of-School Time, 106 Central St., Wellesley, MA 02481. (781) 283-2547, www.niost.org.

Foundation Center Stats: Top 50 U.S. Foundations by Giving to StateThe Foundation Center

Each state link in this report lists the 50 foundations that gave the most to that state in 2002. New York received the most money ($2.1 billion), followed by California ($2 billion) and Washington, D.C. ($1.1 billion). Additional ranks are provided by metropolitan area and general purpose, and identical lists are available for each year from 1998 through 2001.

A total of $1.4 billion was made in grants for the general “children and youth” population in 2002, $782 million of which was for elementary and secondary education. More than $225 million went to youth development, a 19 percent increase from 2001 but still under the recent peak of $240 million in 1999.

Child and Youth Well-Being in the United States, 1975-1998: Some Findings From a New IndexDuke University Sociology Department

This report sets out to show differences in children’s quality of life between 1975 and 1998. Using a score constructed from 28 national indicators of child well-being within seven more general domains, the study shows that children’s living conditions in 1998 were better than they were in 1985, but worse than in 1975.

The 2 to 3 percentage-point decline since 1975 is composed of a number of improvements in certain areas, balanced by slightly bigger declines in other categories. The biggest gain was in the “place in community” domain, which improved because of increased rates of participation in schooling and work institutions.

Of the 896,000 children determined to be victims of abuse or neglect in 2002, 80 percent were abused or neglected by their own parents or their caregivers. The overall rate of victimization has dropped from 13.4 youth per 1,000 in 1990 to 12.3 per thousand in 2002. Of the victims in 2002, 1,400 died. 166 pages. Free online. U.S. Administration for Children and Families, 370 L’Enfant Promenade SW, Washington, DC 20447. (202) 401-9215, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/cm02/cm02.pdf.

Every Child Deserves A Designated DriverMothers Against Drunk Driving

Although 35 states have child endangerment laws that include driving drunk with a child passenger, such laws are not being properly charged, prosecuted or documented. That was the finding of a panel put together by MADD. Its report makes recommendations on child restraint laws, conditions of bail for defendants caught drunk with child passengers and penalties for repeat offenders. 40 pages. Free online. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 511 E. John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 700, Irving, TX 75062. (800) 438-6233, www.madd.org.

Comparison of Traditional Public Schools and Charter SchoolsGoldwater Institute

Comparisons of public and charter school students in Arizona between 1998 and 2000 show that charter school students began with lower standardized scores, but increased those scores at a significantly higher rate. Students who attended charter schools in the period averaged a 662 on the SAT-9 Reading Achievement test in 1998, compared with a 681 average for their public school peers. Charter school students’ scores improved 3.9 percent by 2000, while public school students’ scores climbed 2 percent. 42 pages. Free online. Goldwater Institute, 500 E. Coronado Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85004. (602) 462-5000, www.goldwaterinstitute.org.

The Unrestricted Highway: A Report on State Efforts to Identify and Combat Human Trafficking in the United StatesNational Consumers League

According to the International Labor Organization, the study authors say, the trafficking of humans takes a back seat only to arms and drugs in the world of lucrative illicit trade. The report highlights federal law on the issue (particularly the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000), but focuses mostly on what states are doing to respond to the problem of adults and children forced or coerced into slave labor, prostitution and other forms of servitude. 31 pages. $4. National Consumers League, 1701 K St. NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20006. (202) 835-3323, www.nclnet.org.

Growing to Greatness: The State of Service Learning ProjectNational Youth Leadership Council

This is the second report from the Growing to Greatness project, assessing the presence and impact of service-learning projects for youth. This installment provides preliminary findings on community service programs in public schools, research on K-12 service learning, profiles of service-learning in 18 states and other essays. 92 pages. Free online. National Youth Leadership Council, 1667 N. Snelling Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108. (651) 631-3672, www.nylc.org.

The High School Transcript StudyNational Center for Education Statistics

This study surveys the curricula offered by schools and the patterns of coursework completed by students in the United States. The results show that the overall number of course credits and the number of core subject credits (in science, math, English and social studies) both increased moderately between 1990 and 2000. Course credits in vocational courses that were unrelated to computers experienced the most significant decline.

The grade point average (GPA) of graduating high school students increased 10 percent, to 2.94. Female students’ average GPA (3.05) stood higher than that of males (2.83). 131 pages. Free online. National Center for Education Statistics, 1990 K St. NW, Washington, DC 20006. (202) 502-7300, www.nces.ed.gov.